Location, Location, Location

I ended my day last night sitting on the deck of our house with a close friend over looking a couple hundred acres of woods (we own only 5 of those acres which is a great deal – pay taxes on 5 acres and enjoy 200), watching the sun set and listening to a few campfires at camp. Yes I said “listened to a few campfires”. Because at SpringHill a campfire is not just burning logs but is 20 or so kids and their counselors singing crazy camp songs and sharing stories about their day at camp.

Last night I think there must have been a contest between some areas (groups of cabins) as to which area could sing the loudest.   It was fun to hear the crazy songs, songs like Funky Chicken, You Can’t Ride My Little Red Wagon, One Dark Night-Fire-Fire-Fire and one of my old favorites Flea.

After my friend left I thought about all those kids and the potential spiritual impact this week may have on their lives. How last night’s campfire may have been the place where a camper made a significant decision concerning their faith and their relationship with Christ. All those funny, loud, goofy songs and yet, at the same time, such a powerful and moving experience, a true milestone in people’s lives.  And frankly it’s not just campers at SpringHill but campers at camps all over the country and around the world who had those same experiences around a campfire last night.

There is something powerful about being in God’s creation, sitting around a campfire, singing funny songs, having s’mores and sharing lives together.  And I have the privilege and the pleasure of being a witness to so much of it in my work and, of course, from the deck of our house.

Our home is a testament to the  old real estate adage – location, location, location. There are only a handful of homes in the world where the backyard entertainment on a summer evening is as spectacular as ours.